Texas State Capitol – Austin

This is a must see if you visit Austin. It is located on 1100 Congress Avenue. Beautifully nestled on top of a hill and surrounded by gorgeous gardens.

On weekdays it is open from 7 AM to 10 PM. Weekends 9 AM to 8 PM. During legislative sessions the opening hours may be extended.

It is free to enter the building and I was told by the charming guide that this is due to the fact that we pay taxes that pays for the running of this building. Glad to be included as a US tax payer even though I am not. Luckily they do not differentiate between citizens and visitors.

You can choose to wander around on your own or you can ​follow a guide. The guided tours are also totally free! I chose to follow a guide and did not regret it. They can tell you so much more than what you can read of your little pamphlet.

If you set out on your own remember that the rule is that you can enter any room that is unlocked.

On the day I visited the State Capitol was buzzing with activity. The legislators had been called in especially to pass new legislation. It was interesting to see them in session, having political discussions in the hallway and watching reporters cast live news reports.

Make sure you have plenty of time walking around this beautiful historic building. It is the largest State Capitol, not counting the US Capitol. It is registered on the National Register of Historic Places and it is also designated a National Historic Landmark.

It is definitely an architectural wonder and walking the halls leaves you in awe of the architect, its builders and the amount of history lodged in the walls. If only the walls could speak!

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9 thoughts on “Texas State Capitol – Austin”

Hi Anna,that was an amazing tour around an amazing building,will be on my bucket list…I like your little history lessons,always very interesting to learn about new “old” things.
Thanks for sharing 👍🏽🇳🇴

You know, I lived in the Austin area for more than a decade before even going down to the capitol. And now I am making a concerted effort to explore Austin more often with my camera. It’s a good city to live around.

Great. I hope you come back. I am from Texas and am finally taking time to explore the state. I went out to West Texas recently. Once you get past the endless oil fields, there is some beautiful desert country out there, which is why I went in November.

Never made it as far as the desert out West. Wish I had. Are there photos on your blog? My next trip will be Vegas though and then hopefully the train ride that goes from the west to east cost of the US. More spectacular buildings and scenery awaits.